Seth Macfarlane polarises Oscars audience

The award for most polarising Oscars host could very well go to Seth MacFarlane, judging by his performance when announcing the Academy Awards nominations for 2013.

In the 10 minutes it took him to reveal the nominees during an early-morning telecast, the Family Guy creator cracked a joke about Hitler, quipped about actresses being attracted to movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and insulted his co-presenter Emma Stone.

When it was revealed that Amour, a film about a dying woman, was among the foreign language film nominees, MacFarlane said: "I read Amour was co-produced in Austria and Germany, right? The last time Austria got together and co-produced something it was Hitler, but this is much better."

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There were audible groans, and some laughs, when MacFarlane announced the nominees in the supporting actress category by saying: "Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein."

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At the beginning of the broadcast at 5.40am (Los Angeles time) on Thursday , he introduced Stone as “the star of the new film Gangster Squad”, before questioning: “I'm not sure you're the star. That seems more like an ensemble piece, right?”

A moment later, he said of Stone: “Some say she's better than Meryl Streep,” before stopping to ask: “Who says that?"

MacFarlane's irreverent and risque humour suggests that the potential for inappropriate comedy at an awards show could shift from the Golden Globes to the Oscars this year. Ricky Gervais's Golden Globes hosting efforts for three years running split critics, with the British comedian branded simultaneously "toothless" and "hysterical".

And the potential for more of the same at the traditionally staid Oscars ceremony had some people, including British CNN host Piers Morgan, excited.

* "5 Broken Cameras"Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi* "The Gatekeepers"Nominees to be determined* "How to Survive a Plague"Nominees to be determined* "The Invisible War"Nominees to be determined* "Searching for Sugar Man"Nominees to be determined

* "Amour" Written by Michael Haneke* "Django Unchained" Written by Quentin Tarantino* "Flight" Written by John Gatins* "Moonrise Kingdom" Written by Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola* "Zero Dark Thirty" Written by Mark Boal